SCA executive director Getto to resign

Updated 10:45 pm, Monday, December 3, 2012

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck hands the SCA Arts Legacy Award off to actor David Canary after SCA Execuive Director Elissa Getto presented it to Brubeck during a benefit concert gala in 2010. Getto is to resign as executive director of the non-profit organization at the end of the year. less

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck hands the SCA Arts Legacy Award off to actor David Canary after SCA Execuive Director Elissa Getto presented it to Brubeck during a benefit concert gala in 2010. Getto is to resign as ... more

STAMFORD -- After a four-year tenure in which she shepherded the Stamford Center for the Arts from bankruptcy to solvency, Elissa O. Getto will resign as executive director of the nonprofit organization at the year's end, according to a statement released by the center's board of directors.

Getto, who joined the SCA in 2008 as a consultant and was later hired as executive director, is credited with helping the organization overcome a nearly $1 million deficit, achieving an operating surplus in each of the last three fiscal years, according to the board.

"Being a part of a team that resolved a financial crisis and stabilized an institution for the future was an incredibly rewarding experience," Getto, of Stamford, said. "We saved the theater."

In a statement, SCA board Chairman Michael L. Widland praised Getto for her "strong and wise leadership over the last four years through some very difficult times."

A professional business consultant, Getto was enlisted by the SCA to "write the plan to help the organization emerge from bankruptcy." With that job complete and the SCA back in the black, Getto is eager to return to the consulting world, where she has carved out a fruitful career as a troubleshooter for financially distressed organizations.

"It was good run, I had a wonderful staff and now, I want to move onto some other things," she said. Getto is also responsible for reinstating the SCA's education programs, expanding staff from three to 11 full-time employees and securing a donation from Harman Industries for a new sound system at the 1,500-seat Palace Theatre.

In addition to the Palace Theatre, the SCA owns the 800-seat Rich Forum, which is now being leased by NBC for filming of "The Jerry Springer Show" and similar programs.

Michael E. Moran, formerly SCA's general manager, will take over as executive director, Widland said.

As she departs the SCA, Getto said the organization faces a number of challenges, including competition from other venues, such as the recently opened Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y.

The SCA "needs to stay rooted to the community, focus its efforts on funding and stay open to ever-changing scene in arts and entertainment," she said.

Despite its past troubles, Getto believes the SCA "has a bright future." With it now on stable financial footing, Getto said, it's going to take "a strong leader with creative ideas to take the organization to the next phase."